Lost Among the Dead
by MelB21
Summary: After Stiles is in a car accident he is caught between life and death, stuck, and unable to get back. While his friends try to figure out why he won't wake up, Stiles is visited by those who have already died, for better or worse, he has plenty of people who want a word with him as he figures out who- or what- is keeping him in the in-between.
1. Chapter 1

Stiles felt hollow. He was driving home from meeting the pack, but he had an awful feeling in the back of his mind that he hadn't shared with his friends for fear that if he spoke it aloud, it may be more real. More true. He'd been abnormally quiet as they'd actually just hung out for once. But only Scott had noticed, and he'd made up some lame excuse about being tired. But in reality, he'd been thinking. Worrying. He didn't know how it could happen though. It was impossible, he'd closed the door in his mind. Nothing else could get in again. But he had the sinking sensation that it was back. Back to torment him again, back to torture his friends. Back for revenge. But who would he choose this time? Would he come back for Stiles? Or would he choose a new host? Did he actually get out? How would he have gotten out? The questions kept bouncing around his head, over and over again, tormenting him. He was going through all of the possibilities into how the fox could have possibly gotten out that he didn't see the deer wander into the road until it was right in his headlights. Stiles cursed and jerked the wheel to the side, narrowly missing the animal as his jeep tried to keep up with what it's owner demanded of it. The passenger side wheels lifted off the ground and before he knew what was happening, the car was on its side and kept going.

Stiles was thrown around as glass exploded around him, cutting into his hands, his arms, his face. His head hit the doorframe of the drivers' side, where broken and jagged glass embedded itself into his scalp. The jeep came to a rest on its hood, Stiles still strapped in by his seatbelt, upside down. Blood dripped down on to the inside roof of the car as Stiles' arms hung above him. He shook his head to try and clear the fogginess covering his vision. The blood was rushing to his head and he tried to undo his seatbelt to let gravity pull him back upwards, but it wouldn't budge. "Help." He said weakly, before clearing his throat. "Is anybody there!" he yelled breathlessly. But his voice sounded weak. He tried undoing the seatbelt again, this time with more luck, it clicked open and he threw his arms up to catch himself. He hit the roof of the car hard, and his vision went black for a minute. He shook his head to clear it. Bad idea. Pain shot through his skull, and red filled his vision as blood dripped down past his eye. He reached up and touched his head where most of the pain was coming from. His hand came away red with blood. "Shit." He whispered. He looked around for his phone and found it thrown not far from him. The screen was shattered, but when he put his finger on the sensor, it unlocked with a click. He dialed Scott right before his vision got blurry and he grasped it in pain. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't identify it. It took him a minute to realize he was having a really hard time breathing. His vision swirled again as he heard someone calling his name. "Stiles you there? Stiles. Hello? Dude, did you butt dial me again?" He heard his best friend chuckle, but he was too busy clutching his chest with one hand and his head with another. His head ached and he felt dizzy. Everything was spinning. His stomach rolled and he leaned over to puke. But as soon as his chest heaved pain broke through worse than anything he'd ever imagined. He collapsed next to his pile of vomit only to realize a second later it was mostly blood he'd coughed up. "Well." He said weakly. "That's probably not good." He said.

"Stiles! Are you okay?" He heard dimly. But the phone wasn't in his hand anymore. Somehow it had fallen near his head when he'd toppled over. Scott's voice sounded so far away, but he could still see his phone near his head. He tried reaching for it but his hands suddenly felt so heavy. "Stiles! Where are you?" Scott was saying, voice filled with worry now.

"Scott. Scott don't tell my dad. I don't want him to worry." Stiles said weakly.

"Stiles where are you!" Scott was yelling now, panic in his voice. If Stiles was telling him not to tell his dad something, it could only mean one thing. Stiles was hurt. Badly. He didn't know what had happened, but he was already running to his bike outside, jacket barely over his shoulders from throwing it on so quickly. He threw his helmet on and opened the visor, putting his phone on speaker. "Stiles!"

"Near the high school." He heard Stiles whisper, barely conscious now. Scott stuck the phone in his helmet, wedged tightly between his hear and the inside material and started up his bike. He barely had time to let the engine start before he hit the gas.

Back at the jeep, Stiles was fighting to stay conscious. Out of nowhere, he heard someone whisper in his ear. "Stiles…" Stiles heartrate picked up speed. "Are you scared to die Stiles…" He would know that voice anywhere. He'd had nightmares of it regularly since he'd had to live the nightmare. "Because you are you know… you're dying.." The voice sounded so close to his ear. Almost from within his head. He had no more energy to turn his head to see if his fears were real. All he could do was close his eyes tightly. "Do you remember me, Stiles… Do you remember what you did to me?"

"Stiles! Are you there? Stay on the phone with me Stiles. I'm coming your way." He heard Scott yell into the phone. But Stiles couldn't really process the words he was saying. The voice in his head was echoing too hard.

"You made the mistake to try to beat me at my own game. You made me disappear after all that time I tried to break out, Stiles." It said slowly. "And now… I'm going to make you disappear." Stiles' eyes relaxed, not feeling the pain anymore. Not feeling much of anything except fear. And even that was waning. "Say goodbye to your friend Stiles. Go on. Warn him, Stiles…"

Stiles turned his head just enough to put his mouth near the phone. His fear was lessening as unconsciousness took over. He felt a metallic liquid coming up his throat and into his mouth, and found it hard to speak anything, let alone around the blood pooling in his mouth. "Scott…" He whispered. "F-"

Stiles coughed, turning the pavement red, and sending a shooting pain throughout his chest. The pain overwhelmed him and blackness descended. But he needed to warn Scott. "Five…" He whispered into the phone, and then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reading past Chapter 1! This is only my second story on this site, both for Teen Wolf. Hope you enjoy! My other story was mostly done when I released the first chapter but this one I'm writing as I go and uploading as soon as I have a chapter finished so it may not be released as frequently. Hope you guys like enough to stick around, some old characters will be showing up soon. Stay tuned! -Mel

...

Scott was speeding. Stiles hadn't specified exactly how far from the school he'd been, but he knew the way Stiles went home. It was only a matter of time before he picked up his scent. "Stiles, can you hear me? Answer me, Stiles!" But there was nothing, silence filled the line. "Damn it." He said, and sped up. It was nearly 2 in the morning and there were no cars on the road. All Scott could think of was how badly Stiles was in trouble for him to call. There weren't many times where Stiles had called for help, so when he did, Scott was automatically on high alert. Normally when they got into trouble it was together, and Stiles was the person who got them out of it. Scott knew if he was in trouble he could get himself out of it, so if he called there was something seriously wrong. Despite being human, Scott considered him the strongest of the pack, the most essential. When the pack had split up, it was the tear between Stiles and him that had been the starting point. And it was Stiles who he had to first get back on his side before he could start mending fences with the rest of the pack.

Scott rounded a corner and saw a flash of bright blue. He pulled on the brakes as he took in the scene. Stiles' jeep was turned completely upside down in the middle of the two lanes, glass shattered all over the road. On the drivers' side where the window was broken, there was cut up and bloody arm hanging limply over the doorframe. Scott hopped off his bike "Stiles!" he said, running up to the jeep. He got down, glass cutting into his palms as he looked into the jeep. Stiles was unconscious, arms bleeding from the glass, but it was something bigger that caught Scott's eye. Stiles' face had streaks of blood dripping down his face forming a puddle under his head. His eyes were slightly open and his face was so pale, Scott's heart nearly stopped. "Stiles no-" he said, tuning into his wolf senses. He closed his eyes and searched desperately. It didn't take long for him to hear the one thing he was looking for. Stiles heartbeat was slow, too slow, but it was there. Thank God. Scott whipped off his helmet and reached for his phone, still tucked inside. He knew if he called the police his dad would find out, but it didn't matter. Stiles needed a hospital. Scott called 911, and gave them the details of their location. He feared moving Stiles in case there was anything internally broken, but instead reached for his shoulder and began absorbing some of his pain. Scott got a jolt when he realized there wasn't much to take any more. He flashed back to Allison, dying in his arms. "I can't take your pain." He'd said to her in shock. "That's because it doesn't hurt." She'd responded. New fear ran through his heart. Stiles was more injured than it appeared, but he couldn't tell from where. He didn't know how to fix it.

A siren's wail began getting closer and Scott stood up and began waving them down. As the ambulance pulled to a stop Scott was already running towards the first paramedic to lead him over to Stiles. "Over here! His pulse is weak, and he's bleeding a lot." Scott said, showing the paramedic where to bring the stretcher. "I think he has a gash on his head. There's a lot of blood, it's all over his face." He said, before standing to the side and watching as firefighters and police arrived. The first officer on scene was the Sheriff himself, who jumped out of his car, leaving the door open, and ran for the jeep. "Stiles!" Scott ran up to him, stopping him from getting to close. He didn't need to see his son like that. "Scott I know you're much stronger than me, but if you don't get the hell out of my way I will use force against you. I know you heal quickly. Now get out of my way."

"Sheriff Stilinski, I can hear his heartbeat from here. He's going to be fine, the paramedics are here, they won't let anything happen to him. _I_ won't let anything happen to him."

The Sheriff calmed down a fraction of an inch and grabbed Scott by the shoulder. "I appreciate the words, but it's a bit too late for that. Now move aside Scott." This time Scott backed down, and the Sheriff ran towards his son. The paramedics had finally removed him from the jeep and were wheeling him to the ambulance. "Stiles! Stiles, can you hear me?" The sheriff said, but Stile remained unconscious.

The paramedics were radioing into the hospital. "En route, the patient is a kid, 17-20 years old, multiple contusions and lacerations to the head and arms. Patient in need of CT Scan of the head and chest upon arrival. Get one of the rooms prepped and ready." One of them said as they wheeled him into the ambulance. While one went to the front to drive, the other stopped speaking into the radio and turned to them. "One of you can ride with the patient up front, but you need to choose now."

Sheriff Stilinski looked back at his empty police cruiser and shook his head. "No that's ok, but I'll be right behind the ambulance, can't leave the Sheriff's car for someone to steal. Scott?"

"I'll follow behind you on my bike Sheriff." The Sheriff nodded, tears in his eyes, which he quickly turned away to hide. He jogged over to his car and started it up as the ambulance closed the doors and drove off. Scott mounted his bike and took off after them.

They arrived at the hospital and began their long wait. While they waited, an officer that had followed from the scene of the crash came up to Scott to get a statement. Soon after he left, a nurse came up to them to give them an update. "Family of M- Miecz-"

"Stiles. We call him Stiles. I'm his father, what's going on?"

"Stiles. Thank God." The nurse whispered to herself, writing 'Stiles' down on her paper. "The X-rays showed he has multiple ribs broken as well as a dislocated shoulder, so they did a CT scan to get a better view. It showed moderate to severe internal bleeding, so he needs to go into emergency surgery to fix the problem. If he doesn't get into surgery immediately- We need you to sign a consent form." The sheriff signed the form and handed back to her quickly. "I'll be back with an update as soon as I find out more." She said, and hurried away. Scott sat down, head between his hands, and the Sheriff sat down next to him.

"He's going to be okay Scott." Scott laughed with no amusement behind it.

"I should be saying that to you." The sheriff smiled.

"He's where he needs to be, getting help. This was not some supernatural beating he endured, it was an accident; the way I see it, if he can deal with all of that on a daily basis, this won't be the thing that kills him." Sheriff Stilinski said, but his eyes betrayed his fear for his son. "By the way Scott, I never got to say thank you. For picking up his call, for racing over, and for calling 911. If you hadn't done that as fast as you did, he'd be in worse shape than he is now."

Scott nodded, and they sat in silence, waiting for more word.

…

Stiles woke up with a groan, turning over to his side and sitting up on the bed, eyes closed. "Ugh jeez that hurts." He said, clinging to his side. He stood up, amazed that he was able to. He remembered the crash, the pain, and considering the amount of pain he had been in, this was nothing. Almost like an echo of what he felt before. There was a beeping sound next to him and he looked up to see a heart monitor next to him, monitoring his vitals. But it was weird, there didn't seem to be anything attached to him. The room was loud, louder than he thought it would be. There were too many people in here, but surprisingly, no one was coming up to him now that he was awake. He stood up and turned towards the voices, and froze. He wasn't in a hospital room, he was in the surgeon's room. Doctors were all around him, gloved hands full of blood as they operated on the patient on the table.

"Heart rate is dropping, we need to find the source of the bleeding!" the doctor said urgently. The blood was a bit much for Stiles, and he started gagging. "Well, that's disgusting." He said, wondering if he was dreaming. He backed away from the table, but something was nagging at him to get closer. He took a few tentative steps towards the table and looked at the patient. His mouth was stuffed with a large tube, breathing for him, and his face was covered in nasty cuts and covered in blood from a gash on his hairline. There was a large gauze pad covering the gash, which was seeping through. But after looking past all the blood and gore on his face, Stiles' heart stopped.

He'd once read a physiologist book about how if a person saw his own face, he might not even recognize himself, because you've never seen your own face, not really. You've seen it in pictures and in the mirror, but you've never actually seen it. Therefore, if you did, there was no guarantee that you would recognize yourself. But at that moment Stiles knew it was bullshit. Even covered in blood, Stiles knew he was looking at himself. His heart started beating a mile a minute and he his breathing became labored. "No.. no this can't be happening." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Am-am I dead?" he said to himself. "Wait no they're operating on me, so I must be alive. Is this a dream?" he asked no one in particular. "Wake up Stiles. Wake up, Stiles!" He shouted, grabbing his hair in distress. But it wasn't working. He couldn't bear to look at himself on the table anymore and reached for the door. Instead of grabbing onto the door, his hand went right through it. "Shit!" he said, and looked at his hand in wonder. He put it towards the door again, and it slipped right through. He stepped closer to the door and walked towards it, bracing for impact. But the impact never came. When he opened his eyes, he was on the other side of the door. He walked away quickly, then ran. He wanted to be as far away from that operating table as possible. He ran down the halls, looking for a familiar face, anyone that he knew.

"Do you think this is a dream, Stiles?" He heard something say behind him. Stiles stopped running, heart skipping a beat. The rest of the crash came back to him in a flash. The nogitsune's voice, its taunting. It's threats. "I told you I'd kill you, Stiles… did you think I was lying?"

Stiles breathing hitched. He turned towards the voice slowly, but there was nothing there. He whirled around trying to find it, but there was no one in sight. "Do you really think there was a deer on that road Stiles?" It said, taunting him. "I made you see it, Stiles… _I_ put you here. All this pain and suffering your body is feeling. I caused it."

"What do you want!" Stiles shouted.

"Do you remember my riddles, Stiles..?" Stiles paused, unsure what he was trying to get to this time. "If I drink, I die, If I eat I am fine. What am I?"

"A fire." Stiles said automatically, eyes searching all around him.

"It brings back the lost as though never gone, shines laughter and tears with light long since shone; a moment to make, a lifetime to shed; valued then but lost when you're dead. _What Is It_?

"A memory."

"Poor people have it, rich people need it, if you eat it you die. What is it?"

"Nothing." No matter how much he searched, the nogitsune was nowhere. The only place left was...

"I have no life but I can die, what am I?"

Stiles thought about it but came up blank. He hadn't heard this one before. And he knew what was coming next if he didn't know the answer. "I don't know." He said, voice shaking.

"I have no life but I can die… _what am I?_ " it hissed, sounding next to his ear. Stiles cupped his hands around his ears and whirled around, finding nothing. He knew where the voice was coming from now, and there was no way to stop it.

"I don't know!" He said desperately.

" _I have no life!"_ it yelled all around him " _But I can die! What. Am I?"_ There had to be a reason. A reason why the nogitsune was only in his head. Why it only seemed to be attacking him. There must still be a reason why he was suddenly able to show itself in some form or another, even if it was only his voice. But why only to him? And why were his visions so weak when before he had started with full on hallucinations and waking dreams? They were never a flash of something like the deer, and it was never that simple. Wouldn't he want revenge against them all? Unless Stiles was the only one he could reach out to for some reason. Unless he needed something from Stiles. There had to be a link. A link… everything clicked for Stiles.

"A battery…" He whispered. The nogitsune's ominous laughter echoed in his head, drowning out everything else. And then it was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! This chapter is more of a filler on Stiles' condition so bear with me. Enjoy chapter 3! Please review, the feedback is appreciated. Any requests on who you want to see of the dead? May not be able to fit everyone but I'll take requests! -Mel

...

"Hello! Is there anyone there! Can anyone hear me!" Stiles had taken to shouting things out randomly as he wandered the town. But in the end, he always wound up back at the hospital. It had been 3 days since the nogitsune had come to him in his head. Given that his pain was the source of the nogitsune gaining power he had assumed he'd be in rough shape. He'd tried everything to make Scott and his dad see him. He'd even tried to shove Scott, only to have his hands stop a half inch from his body as if an invisible force was holding him back. He didn't understand how he was here, completely aware when his body was in the other room hurt and unconscious. After all, if the nogitsune needed him hurt and in pain to regenerate that was one thing, but why not distract his soul as well like he had last time to keep Stiles from fighting? It didn't make sense.

He'd been right next to his dad when the doctor came out to inform them of his condition.

"Mr. Stilinski?" His dad and Scott had shot up immediately. Stiles' heart sank watching his dad so close to tears as he asked about how he was doing. He flashed back to his dad in the ER hurt and bleeding from the Chimera attack. The fear of losing his dad had overwhelmed him, and he couldn't think of anything else. Guilt ripped through him at the thought of causing that fear and anxiety onto his dad. "Your son M- Mic-'

"Stiles." His father corrected quickly, hoping to get to the point.

"Stiles. Ok, so your son Stiles suffered 3 broken ribs, which in turn punctured his right lung and caused it to collapse. Now luckily he called his friend here because left untreated could have worsened his condition. Did he seem breathless on the phone?"

"Yeah," Scott said, recalling their short conversation. "Almost like he couldn't catch his breath."

"Okay, so his lung must have begun to collapse already at the scene. We're re-inflating his lung but he's not out of danger. The broken ribs also tore through some major blood vessels, causing hemothorax and significant internal bleeding. He'll have a chest tube inserted to expel the bleeding and help inflate the lung. The surgeon has performed a thoracotomy, which is a to control the internal bleeding around the lungs. Basically, we made an incision along the rib cage to find where it's stemming from and fixed it from there. In addition to all of that, he has multiple lacerations on his forearms and face from the broken glass, however, what we're more concerned about seems to be a deep and jagged gash on his hairline. Head wounds tend to lead to excessive bleeding, especially if it's deep like this one. However, due to the internal bleeding, he'd already lost a lot of blood. He was in need or a blood transfusion, which he's receiving that as we speak in the ICU. We've stopped the bleeding from his head and found the source of the internal bleeding. He'll be in the ICU for a few days until he wakes up. He'll need to be under constant supervision in case any more bleeding occurs and to make sure his body handles the transfusion alright. It is recommended that family members donate blood for future patient's sake if you'd like to, or in case something else happens it's nice to have some of the patient blood type on file and ready to use. The head trauma is another concern. It caused a concussion, he must have hit the edge of the car door pretty hard. Right now the area of concern is making sure he has no cerebral hemorrhages. He's getting a CT scan of the head now, and will then be put into a room in the ICU. I can allow 2 visitors at a time, but only family until he's stable."

The sheriff looked at Scott, then back to the nurse. "We're both family to Stiles." He said, and a rush of relief rushed through Scott. But it didn't last long. The nurse smiled sadly. "I'm sorry Sherriff, but it's a small town and I've seen Scott practically grow up in this hospital with Melissa working here. I can see if we can pull some strings, but for now, just you." She said, looking at the sheriff. He looked like he wanted to say something more but Scott spoke up.

"It's ok, you go in. Tell me how he's doing. I'm not going anywhere." He said, and nodded to the sheriff in understanding. The sheriff nodded back, and a few minutes later he was escorting the sheriff into the ICU. Scott stayed up all night in the waiting room, waiting for more news. It wasn't long before the other members of the pack showed up. By then a few hours had passed but it was still early in the morning. Lydia was the first to show up.

"I had a dream about what happened. I thought it would mean he was going to-" She cleared her throat. "When I woke up I got your text. It was a crash right?" Scott nodded. Tears were in her eyes. "You said he called you? How did he sound?"

"Out of breath. Hurt. But… I think he was trying to warn me of something."

"Warn you? From my dream, it looked like he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. It wasn't anything supernatural. But it came in flashes, I could have been mistaken."

"I don't know, he just seemed… almost desperate to tell me something. He begged me not to tell his dad, and then- he just said five."

"Five?" Lydia said in confusion. Scott nodded. "Any ideas?" Lydia shook her head. Before they could discuss it further, Malia and Liam showed up.

"What happened?" Malia asked, eyes worried. Scott spilled the details. Meanwhile, Stiles was standing next to them. He'd accompanied his dad to his room in the ICU, but couldn't stand to be in the room with his dad so upset and no way to comfort him. Stiles had taken to waiting for his friends to arrive and try to warn them about the nogitsune. He'd waved his hands, shouted aimlessly at them at the top of his lungs, attempted to push them, swing things at them, anything, with no luck. He couldn't even pick up anything around him, his hands went through it all as if made of mist. Frustrated, Stiles went outside to take a walk around, and try to find someone, anyone who could hear him, see him. Three days later it was still the same. He'd been declared in serious but stable condition, and other visitors were allowed to see him 2 at a time. The problem was that the doctors couldn't tell them why he wasn't waking up, and his dad was starting to get restless at Stiles' lack of response. Stiles, however, knew the nogistunae was keeping him in this weird state of in-between.

There was, of course, the issue of not being able to communicate to anyone else. He'd tried concentrating as hard as he could to pick something up, to no avail. He had no way to warn them of what was coming.

The strangest thing about the hospital seemed to be that Stiles always felt like he was being watched. Every time the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, he'd whirl around to see nothing. He began to wonder if he was going insane, or if there was someone here who could see him. Maybe someone else stuck in the in-between? He knew if there was, in fact, someone in there with him it wasn't the nogitsunae. He was happy to make his presence known. To tell Stiles what he wanted through riddles and games. So if he wasn't going crazy, whatever it was that was sharing his space wanted nothing but watch him try and fail to communicate with those around him.

It was day four, the middle of the night, and there was nothing to do but try to figure out how the hell to get back into his body to warn his friends. He tried to lay on top of his body, tried touching it, tried to enter his body in any way he could think of, but his present being just wouldn't _stick_. Stiles couldn't even try to work out a plan because he couldn't do any research. No access to computers, to a pen and paper, to his murder board; everything was out of his grasp. Literally. He was just about ready to go insane when he felt the eyes on him again. Someone was definitely watching him. This time, instead of turning around quickly to try to catch a glimpse, Stiles kept walking down the hall, humming as if he didn't have a care in the world. If whatever it was wanted to follow him, he'd have more of a chance if he thought no one was behind him. What he didn't expect, was how fast that shadow of a person could move.

Out of nowhere, Stiles felt a hand on his shoulder. Pain and fear overwhelmed him as teeth bit into his already-scarred right shoulder. He screamed and tore his shoulder away from the grip it was in.

"Remember me?" Donovan said, eyes wild.

Back in the ICU, Stiles body started convulsing, trying to scream with his soul. The tube in his throat restricted his scream and his body arched in pain. Scott jerked awake and looked at Stiles in panic. "Help!" he screamed. He smelled blood and looked at Stiles as his body went still. Scott searched his body for where the scent was coming from. On his right shoulder, the bright blue hospital gown was being dyed a deep red. Scott tore the gown down past his shoulder, watching in horror as a deep round wound in the shape of teeth marks appeared on his skin, blood pooling from the wound.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, so I forgot to mention that this story takes place between Season 6A and B. So Stiles and Lydia are together, but there's not much Stydia in this story because, well, Stiles is unconscious for most of it. Before Stiles goes to the FBI training place but he's already applied and got accepted. They graduated, etc. If you have anyone in that time frame you want to see visit Stiles from the other side, I am only 1 chapter ahead of this story so I can write it in if there are any suggestions. No promises (depends how/if I can work them into the story) but I'll try. Thank you for the reviews! Also, to Wasteland Monarchist, I got you covered and I think you'll like the end of this chapter :)

...

Stiles was screaming. The teeth in his shoulder were deep, but the pain of them were horrifyingly familiar. He ripped his shoulder away, slightly deepening the wound, but getting away from his teeth-filled palm.

"Remember me?" Donovan said, eyes wild. Stiles stared at him in horror, gripping his shoulder in pain. " _I said do you remember me!_?" Donovan roared, moving towards stiles slowly. Stiles backed away.

"Yes." He whispered. "I remember you." He said fearfully. "You haven't seemed to tone down your psychopathic ways since then I see." He said, with fake humor. Probably not the best thing to say given that he had no idea someone else could lay a hand on him in this in-between, and there was no one here to help. Oh, and for the fact that he was dealing with someone who literally tried to eat him alive. Donovan snarled at him and lunged. Stiles dodged and ran down the hallway, heartbeat pounding.

…

In the ICU, nurses swarmed in, alerted by Scott's yell. Scott wasn't sure if he should show them the mark, but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop them from seeing the blood-soaked hospital gown.

"What happened?" A male nurse asked him.

"I don't know, he looked like he was having a reaction to something, and then all of the sudden his shoulder started bleeding."

"Shoulders don't just start bleeding, was there something that caused it?"

"I don't know- I was sleeping, but I don't think so."

The sheriff, who was on his way back from a coffee break, rushed into the room. "Scott, what happened?" He said.

"I don't- I don't know- his shoulder, it just started bleeding."

Sheriff Stilinski turned towards the nurse, "Could you have missed something from the accident?"

"Possibly, let's get his shoulder treated and let me talk to his doctors." He went back to the 3 nurses working on stopping the bleeding and monitoring his vitals. Just then the doctor in charge of Stiles' case walked in. She took a look at the machines and immediately started barking orders. Only then did Scott look at the monitors itself, noting that his blood pressure and heart rate were off the charts for someone at rest and unconscious. Something was very wrong. And Scott was beginning to suspect that is wasn't something in this room that was putting Stiles in distress.

…

"You really think you can run from me Stiles?" Donovan screamed at him from down the hall. "I've been studying these halls for days, following _yo_ u for days. You really think I can't predict where you're going?" He snarled. Stiles didn't care. He needed to lead him away from his body, and preferably away from his soul.

"You killed me Stiles!" Stiles heart was racing in fear. More than facing the fact that he had murdered Donovan, the fear of him being alive again scared him even more. Donovan chased him down the hallway, only a few steps behind him.

"You were trying to kill _me_! You threatened to kill my dad!" Stiles yelled over his shoulder.

"You're a coward Stiles! Just like your father. Face me!" He yelled.

"My dad had nothing to do with your fathers' accident!"

"He was there! Right there! And yet MY dad was paralyzed, and YOUR dad, becomes Sheriff? Tell me how that's fair!"

Stiles slowed down and came to a stop. He was sick of running from this psychopath. He turned around slowly and found himself face to face with Donovan, who faltered in his chase and looked mildly surprised that Stiles had stopped running. "Life isn't fair Donovan, I can't change what happened, but instead of trying to match up to the person and hero your dad is, you somehow turned all that and threw it in his face in order to become a murderer with one too many screws loose. If your dad was unlucky, it was because he had a psychopath like you for a son." Stiles hadn't really meant to say all that. But then again, since when had he had a filter when he was nervous? Or ever really. Donovan screamed in anger and lunged at Stiles again. Stiles was prepared and grabbed for the blood pressure stand next to him in the hallway. He grabbed onto it steadily and swung it around at Donovan, hitting him on the side of his face. Donovan went down, and Stiles dropped the blood pressure stand and looked at his hands in surprise. How had he done that? He'd been trying to touch something, anything, for days with no luck. He went to pick up his weapon again as Donovan got off the ground with a snarl, but this time his hand went through it. He tried again to no avail. "Oh shit," Stiles said, and backed away from Donovan slowly.

"Oh and you're so great? I may have tried to kill you Stiles, but you got me first didn't you?" Stiles swallowed nervously. "How does it feel to have gotten away with murder _Stiles_? Daddy's golden boy trying to go into the FBI academy having already committed a murder that daddy helped cover up? What else is he hiding for you? All the supernatural beings in this town? Your precious girlfriend, the banshee? Your alpha werewolf best friend? How many times have you gotten away with murder Stiles? You know you've killed others don't you?" He said, catching Stiles off guard. Using his alarm, Donovan lunged at him again. Stiles didn't have time to avoid it and they went crashing down in the hallway. "Who do you believe is responsible for your mothers' death Stiles? For Aiden's death? All those people you ordered to be slaughtered in the hospital by the Oni? Or Allison? How did it feel Stiles? To let that scaffolding fall and impale me, watching me as I died by your hand?" Donovan said, punching Stiles in the face. "Did it feel good? Did it feel powerful?" He asked, punching Stiles in the face again. "Because I can tell you one thing," He said, getting startlingly close to Stiles' face. "It sure does for me." He said, and opened his mouth wide, exposing 2 rows of razor sharp teeth. His eyes went pure white, and he lurched forward, ready to tear Stiles throat open.

Out of nowhere, something whizzed through the air, and Donovan jerked back in surprise, arrow in his chest.

"For the record? The Oni killed me under the Nogitsunae's orders. Not Stiles." Someone down the hall said. "If you took a moment to look at Stiles, you'd see he's no murderer." They said. Donovan looked up at the person talking down the hall and snarled, before disappearing into thin air like smoke. Stiles looked down the hall in surprise, heart racing from almost dying. Again. The person smiled and he swallowed nervously. Half happy to see her, half filled with guilt.

"Allison." He said.

"Hey Stiles, it's been awhile."


	5. Chapter 5

"Allison?" He said, and he was surprised to find his voice crack in surprise and his heart plummet.

"Hey Stiles." She said almost nervously. Stiles went still, just staring at Allison standing in front of him for a full minute in awkward silence. Before he knew he was moving, he'd gathered Allison in his arms and engulfed her in a giant hug. They held onto each other tightly for a long time. Stiles knew that his eyes had filled, but he didn't care. Guilt and grief rose to the surface and tore through him like a freshly opened wound. "Allison I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant for anyone to die and I couldn't control him. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" He said, whispering his hidden shame over and over as his tears spilled over onto her shirt. But Allison didn't seem to want to hear it. She immediately began shushing him and trying to get him to calm down.

"Stiles Stiles, stop." Allison broke their hug and leaned back just far enough to grip his shoulders. "My death was _not_ your fault. The nogitsune wasn't even possessing you anymore when I was stabbed by the Oni. Have you really been blaming yourself all this time?"

Stiles looked away, trying and failing to pull himself together. He was normally so good at hiding how he was feeling. But then again, it's not every day you got to have another conversation with a friend who had already died. Someone whose death you were responsible for. "Stiles look at me," Allison said, grabbing Stiles jaw and forcing him to look at her. "It. was _not._ your fault." Stiles just stared at her as she nodded to him. "No one could have predicted it. No one could have stopped it. My life? It may have been shorter then I would have liked, but in that time, I did _so much._ I lived up to my name as an Argent, and changed my families views, I fought monsters that I never thought would be real, I made amazing friends that were worth dying for, I saved lives, and I fell in love. Yes, my life was short. But I still _lived._ And I don't regret any of it, okay? _Any_ of it. Even the way I died. Fighting a dark force that threatened the people I love. I died fighting with, and for my friends, and I wouldn't have had it any other way."

"But you were there because of me."

"No offense Stiles but we had already kind of saved you. I mean you were weak and dying but we didn't really know how to stop it or help you at that point. We were there to save Lydia. And we were there to try and stop the Nogitsune and the Oni. We weren't there for you, we were there _with_ you. So stop thinking all of this was because of you. You didn't do anything wrong, and I certainly didn't die at your hand. You have nothing to feel sorry about okay?"

Stiles nodded, only half believing her. He couldn't help feeling responsible for the nogitsune's actions since he had been the one to let him in, but he knew Allison didn't hate him, and for now that was enough. Stiles looked away as another tear slid down his face. He brought his hand up and wiped his face quickly, before hugging her tightly once more. Allison hugged him back just as tight. When he finally let go, his tears were gone and his goofy grin had returned. "I never thought I'd see you again so this is a bit unexpected." He said. Then his face dropped and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God does this mean I'm about to die? I mean you're dead right? So I must be too. Like brain dead? Or I'm about to die? Oh God I don't know if I'm ready to die. Oh my God my dad's going to kill me if I die. Oh man and _Scott_!" he said, running his hand through his hair.

Allison laughed "No no you're fine you're still in the same state as you were 4 days ago."

"Then how are you here? How can I see you?"

"Stiles with everything we've seen and what you're going through right now, you'd think it would be less of a shock." She said laughing. "Stiles you're not in your body right? But you're not dead. You're in between. Have you noticed you can still feel some of the pain in your body? That pain is proof of your connection to the living. And this-" she said, pointing to herself, "Is your connection to the dead. I could always see you, and check in on you guys every once and a while. But now, you can see me too." She said. Stiles was still for a moment before he reached his hand out. When his hand touched her shoulder, he knew she was real. He smiled.

"This is actually pretty interesting. So am I like a supernatural being right now? Like a ghost or something?"

Allison debated for a minute. "Well, you're more like a shadow of yourself. Or like a soul outside of your body."

"Cool, okay so tell me how this is all possible? Any idea?"

"From what I gathered, your body was close to death, and so your soul was cast out, but I can't find the cause. With you being in the in-between, you can still see the living, and the dead can see both of you. Unfortunately whatever sort of plane this is that we're in is like a small door to the other side. So small that most people overlook it, but if you happen to look hard enough, you can find it, open it, and come through to this plane. And it seems to be anybody. I don't know how to stop it, I'm just glad I found it in time. Before-"

"Donnovan ripped my throat out. Yes, thanks for that. He would be the first sneaky bastard to find that door and try to kill me. I didn't even know anyone could touch me here. I haven't been able to touch anyone or anything… Wait!" Allison jumped in surprise. "I touched the blood pressure cuff! Temporarily. I don't know how."

Allison looked at his shoulder. "You're bleeding." She said with a frown. She tugged the edge of his sweatshirt down, exposing the deep wound. But surprisingly, it wasn't bleeding much anymore, and the blood was no longer dripping.

"Weird. It stopped bleeding on its own." He looked at Allison. "Ghost thing?"

She looked confused for a minute, and then curiosity took over and she began walking down the hall.

"Hey where are you going?" Stiles asked. When she didn't answer, he followed. Before he knew it they were at his room, where nurses were piled around checking his vitals and talking to Scott and his dad. A nurse was over his right shoulder taping something to his skin. Stiles and Allison got closer to see a bandage around the shoulder on his body in the bed. Allison went pale, while Stiles swallowed. "That's- that's Donnovan's bite mark. My body was bit too?" He said.

Allison shook her head. "I think if something, or someone hurts you in here, your body gets hurt too. That's not good. We need to keep you safe here in the in-between. If something happens to you here, it could really mean your death there."

"Great, this place just keeps getting better and better." Stiles noticed the nurses pointing to his body and followed their fingers to his face, which was slightly swollen and puffy, leaving a bruise under his left eye from where Donovan had punched him a few times. "The nurses must be so confused." He said, almost feeling bad for them. But Allison was no longer looking at his body. Instead, her gaze had found Scott.

"He didn't take my death well, did he?" Stiles was quiet for a minute, trying to find a way to console his dead friend.

"No." He said honestly. "And it made things worse that we didn't have time to grieve. Not properly, and not until later. We were still fighting a battle against the Nogitsune." Allison put her hand up next to Scotts face, resting on top of his cheek. "I'm glad I died next to him. I'm glad I had the chance to tell him what I needed to. I just wish there was enough time to tell everyone goodbye like I got to do with him."

"At least you died fighting. It was a very Argent way to go out." Allison smiled and nodded. She let her hand drop.

"Speaking of the Nogitsune…"

Allisons's eyes sharpened. "What is it?"

"I think he's coming back. I think… he's what's keeping me here. How I got to this in-between. But he should be stuck in the box!" Stiles said in frustration, running his hand through his hair. Allison was shaking her head.

"You lost me. The nogitsune is stuck in a box?"

"Well, the fly."

"Fly?" Allison said, still looking confused as ever.

"Sorry, I forgot how much you would have missed after you, well, died."

"Well that makes sense. Tell you what, I want to know everything. Tell me everything that happened since I died. I want to know it all. What happened to Isaac? How is Scott? Is Lydia doing okay? You must have gotten her out right? Away from the nogitsune? Is she still dating Aiden?

Stiles winced. "Uh, well Aiden died a few days after you did actually. In the battle against the nogitsune. And Lydia is dating someone new. She seems to really like him, I mean I can't blame her, I'd be thrilled too."

"Really? Who is it?" Allison asked with genuine curiosity. Stiles looked up at the ceiling, lips tightening into a smile as he peeked a look at Allison before pointing to himself. "Nuh uh! No… really?" She said, slapping his arm. He laughed and nodded. "Okay, tell me everything, and don't leave anything out! And then tell me why you think the void is back."

Stiles smiled at her eagerness. They sat down on the wide window-cill in Stiles hospital bed, and Stiles began telling her everything she'd missed since she'd died. At some points they laughed, at some, she cried, and sometimes her rage was overwhelming, but Stiles always got her laughing again- over and over, for hours. And for a minute, everything felt right, and in place, as if Allison had never died. He had one of his best friends back.


	6. Chapter 6

UPDATE:

Sorry I've been gone guys! My hard drive completely crashed and I lost everything for this story as well as a Supernatural one I was working on. I had to save up for a temporary computer until I can get my MAC in December of 2019. (Had a separate fund for that). I just started writing again and have to refresh my memory on where I was for this story and think of the direction I was going in. Give me a little more time and I'll start publishing chapters again. Sorry for the wait and hopefully you'll stick with me! Thanks for your support. Let me know in the reviews if you want to see anyone back who died in the TW series!

-Mel


	7. Chapter 7

**Filler Chapter! But at least its starting to come back to me. Per the request, Matt will pop up at some point, as soon as I figure out how to incorporate him. Stay tuned and please review! Also, if you like Hurt-Stiles, check out my other story "Escape from Memory".**

 **...**

Scott sat helplessly by Stiles' hospital bed looking for any sign of movement. There were none. Stiles was pale and still, the only sign of life was the beeping of his heart monitor. For an Alpha of a pack containing a werecoyote, werewolves, a banshee, and a kitsune, Scott had never felt more helpless. He had super strength, incredible hearing, could run faster then any human, and transform into a beast with sharp claws and a killer roar. And yet when his best friend was unconscious a hospital bed, he couldn't do anything. None of them could, and Scott had never felt more helpless. Stiles was hanging onto life by a thread. The doctors couldn't say much about his condition, other then the fact that they had observed and done everything they could about his head trauma. Now all there was to do was wait. But the thing about a coma is you never know when the person could wake up. It could be anywhere from a few days to a few years. The doctors had said that there was brain activity, however small, which meant Stiles wasn't quite lost to them. Lydia and Scott had been here every day since the accident four days ago, and she's only just fallen asleep on one side of the bed, head on Stiles arm.

Scott sat down in a chair on the other side of the bed and looked at his best friend. "Stiles you gotta get up man. I... I can't do this without you. I cant be the fearless leader you always say I am, because I'm scared. I can't do this without you. I've seen people die before Stiles. I've died myself actually." He said with a humorless laugh. "But you always had my back. And I've never pictured my life without you. You're my best friend. Stiles you're my brother. I mean, even when the pack split up, even when we were at our worst, you were the first person I knew I had to make amends with. And you were the first person who came back to help me. I've known you the longest and we've seen each other through everything. So I'm going to be here until you wake up, because you have to wake up. There's no other choice okay? I can't do this without you." Scotts gaze fell to his shoulder. He looked around to make sure no nurses were nearby, and peeled back the gauze. There had been too much blood to see it clearly before, and since then it had been bandaged. Now that the blood was wiped away, he knew exactly what he was looking at. The bite of a wendigo. But how had it gotten there? Their powers didn't include turning invisible, and even if they could they would never have gotten even close to Stiles without being noticed by human eyes or werewolf sense of smell. Something else was going on here. And he was going to find out what.

...

Allison watched Stiles as he in turn watched Scott. She knew he was always one to keep quiet about what was going on in his head. What was _really_ going on. He was one to provide you all the information. He was a genius when it came to making plans and was always there for his friends, but as for his actual frame of mind, it was scarcely seen. The last time Allison had seen Stiles he was so weak, in pain, but told no one. If it wasn't for Scott touching his arm after he woke up, he wouldn't have even told them he was _in_ pain. It was always something she admired about him, and pitied about him. He was so strong, and pretended he didn't need anyone, but if any of his friends were in danger he was the first to put his life on the line. He was more sensitive then most people realized, but at the same time one of the strongest people she knew. Scott seemed to be the only one he could share his true self with, and she knew he kept things even from him, as his way of protecting his best friend. Now as he looked at him, she couldn't help but be happy she got to see him again. They had never been exceptionally close, but she was knew if she was ever in trouble, he would be right there. Now it seemed it was finally her turn to protect him while they found out how to get him back into his body.

The other problem seemed to be the Nogitsune. Somehow it was back, somehow it was returning from the box they had been so careful to keep safe. How had the fly, the essence of the nogitsune, escaped a box made from the Nemeton? It had kept the nogitsunae at bay for around a century. What had changed since then? Maybe…

"Stiles, not that staring at your guests and your body isn't entertaining or anything, but you're in danger here. We need to find out what's wrong with the nemeton."

Stiles curiosity peaked. "The nemeton?"

"Yes. That's my theory. That if the wood is somehow burnt or its essence is waning, we need to find out how its linked to the nogitsune, and how to trap it back under the stump. If we can figure out how the nogitsune got out, we can try to put it back in its place. And if we figure out that, maybe you'll be free to get back to your body."

"So you agree then? The nogitsune is keeping me here." Allison nodded. Stiles shrugged. "Got nothing better to do," he said.

"That's the spirit." Allison said.

"Very punny, I like it." He said approvingly. The left the room, Stiles glancing back at Scott, who was group texting vigorously. "Be back bro." He whispered to Scott, hoping for everyone's sake he would figure out the clues slowly building up around him. There was no way what he whispered on the phone wasn't ringing through his ears. And now his shoulder mysteriously gets bitten? He had to know something was up. But Stiles would leave the clues for Scott to figure out. It was time to investigate.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ok, so what do we know?" Scott started. He had got Lydia, Malia, Liam, and Mason together to discuss the possibilities of what was going on with Stiles.

"We know Stiles is in a coma." Malia started.

"And due to the head trauma, we don't know when he'll wake up. IF he'll wake up." Lydia said.

"We know a large shard of glass was embedded into his head, making him have some hemorrhaging, the full damage of which is unknown." Liam added.

"And we know Scott talked to him before he passed out and left him with the word 'five.'" Mason said.

"And we know that Stiles mysteriously jolted in bed and then started bleeding from his shoulder from a Wendigo, even though there were none near him." Scott finished. "So how does it all connect?"

Silence.

No one knew what exactly was going on with Stiles. What he was going through, and what he'd been trying to warn them about before he lost consciousness. And worst of all, there didn't seem to be a way to get him back. Not any way supernaturally at least. Because Stiles wasn't suffering from a supernatural injury. Scott had noticed the Doctors sharing concerned glances, and his mom had heard them whispering that the head wound was all cleaned out, and though head injuries were hard to decipher a time the patient would regain consciousness, he still should have woken up by now. But he hadn't. And they didn't know why. That was the part that had been bugging Scott. They didn't know _why._ He was at a loss of what to do. At a loss on help his human best friend. But then he was somehow bit by the wendigo, and suddenly it looked like there was something Scott could do. Scott couldn't do anything for a regular human wound, but even if the car crash and other injuries were normal and explainable, the wendigo bite wasn't. And it told Scott that there was something else weird going on. And Scott was determined to get to the bottom of it. Except… He had no idea where to start. So he'd texted everyone to meet up at his house. But it seemed no one else had any idea either.

"Lydia? Have you been able to… I don't know, sense something?" Lydia kept staring at a knot in the table. "Lydia? Lydia." Lydia's head snapped up, eyes lost. She shook her head and her eyes changed back to the determination they were all used to. He knew this had to be hard on her. It was only a few weeks since her and Stiles had admitted their love for one another. And now he was lying in a coma, unaware if he would ever get better. Fearing he would get worse.

"What?" she asked.

"Have you been able to sense anything? Or has anything stuck out to you?"

"No. That's what's driving me crazy. Until the bit on his shoulder popped up, everything happened so… normally. It's not like he was in a werewolf fight or locked up in eichen house or something. It was a normal car crash, and normal injuries. If there was anything supernatural going on I should have sensed… something. Seen- something! But I've gotten nothing. All I can do it sit here running strategics like a normal person."

"There's worse things you could be." Mason said, both feeling offended, and flashing back to finding out he'd been the beast they'd been looking for.

"What about the crash itself? Could it have been something else that caused it?" Liam asked.

"No, I specifically saw a deer in my dream. It seemed to come out of nowhere. He swerved to avoid it and crashed.

"Where does the 5 come in?" Malia asked next.

"There's 5 of us in the pack right now, including Stiles since Kira is gone for who knows how long." Liam chimed in.

"There were 5 alphas in the alpha pack." Scott mentioned.

"There were 5 oni, weren't there?"

"What's an oni?" Mason asked.

"What's an alpha pack?" Liam asked.

Scott shook his head in frustration. "There were nine tails, and nine oni. Even if it was one of those, how would those relate to Stiles now? What was he trying to tell us?" Scott wondered aloud.

"Why not just ask him?" Malia asked innocently. Everyone turned to her.

"What do you mean? How?" Lydia asked, the conversation suddenly peeking her interest.

Malia shrugged. "Haven't you done it before? Go into Stiles head? Tap into his mind with your claws in the back of his neck?" She asked. Silence. Then-

"I feel like I'm failing a calculous class or something" Mason whispered, looking at Liam for direction. "You know what I mean?"

Liam shrugged and nodded. "Yeah I'm lost too." He whispered to Mason. But Scott wasn't, and neither was Lydia. "Malia you're a genius!" Scott said, smiling widely.

"That is a good idea, but it's also dangerous. Stiles is already in bad condition. That don't know why he's not waking up and they think is has something to do with his head wound. If we make another puncture basically into his spine, don't you think it could damage him further?"

Scott was nodding in concentration. It was a valid point, but they were out of options. They needed to know what was going on with his best friend. And talking to him was the best option.

"You have a point Lydia, but we need Stiles to give us a clue into what he was trying to warn us about."

"Hasn't he already given us clues? Five? And the bite mark? We just need to piece them together."

"That's why we're here. And we haven't been able to figure out what any of it means. They don't seem to be related to the bite at all." Scott could tell Lydia was still reluctant, but then she nodded.

"Fine, but we do this under supervision. All of us will be there, including your mom in case something goes wrong. And we should clear it through Stiles' dad too."

Scott was nodding already. "Absolutely. Ok, let's head back to the hospital."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me. I'm going along for the ride and posting as I write. Let me know what you think!**

 **...**

Stiles and Allison were back at the hospital. The nemeton had ended up being a dead end. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it, and in the end they ended up staring at a stump for a good hour as if waiting for it to move or something. But there was no sign- of anything. They were at a loss at what to do, and were back in his hospital room waiting for an idea to strike when the door opened and people began piling in. "Welcome to the party" Stiles said to them as they piled in, but his words were caught on deaf ears. Scott, Malia, Lydia, Mason, Liam, Melissa, and his dad piled into the room. They drew the shades to the rest of the hospital as Scott looked at the sheriff. He nodded towards Scott and Scott approached Stiles.

"What are they doing?" Allison asked, but Stiles was paying more attention to how full the room had just gotten.

"No idea, but maybe we should head out of here- the room's gotten a little tight. Why is everyone here?" He asked, suddenly paying attention to what was going on in the room. They were lifting Stiles up into sitting position slowly, careful of all his injuries.

"Scott, maybe we shouldn't be doing this" Melissa said from the other side of the bed. "He really shouldn't be moved like that, his lung is still healing from being puctured from his rib. We don't want to chance it happening again if he's moved." Scott looked at his best friend, worried.

"That can happen again?"

"Of course, his ribs are still broken. And you're moving them. They're bound but still. The more you move him the more pain he'll be in and the more chance there is for a longer recovery time." Scott looked towards the sheriff, looking for permission. Reluctantly, the sheriff nodded. He wanted to know how his son was doing most of all.

"But Scott, if he tells you he's in pain, you back out right away, you hear me?" the Sheriff asked. Scott nodded.

"Uh, I'm in pain. That fucking hurts actually." Stiles said, clutching his side as beads of sweat littered his forehead.

"Whoa you okay Stiles?" Allison asked.

"Fine, but if I can only feel a fraction of my own pain, then sitting up would hurt way more if I was awake." He said, noticing the heart rate monitor picked up speed as pain spread through his torso.

"Maybe we should stop" Mason said, noticing the monitor.

"He's in some pain but his heart rate isn't completely abnormal, just a little fast. Its his body reacting to his rib pain. Its not out of the normal range yet." She said.

The sheriff looked at her for reassurance, and she nodded. He nodded back and looked at Scott. "Do it. Quickly before I change my mind."

"What are they doing?" Allison asked. Stiles was clutching his side, but he was getting used to the pain. He saw what was happening but couldn't really believe his eyes. He's never really seen it from the outside before. Not on his own body at least.

"Allison- if they were to go in my head, but my soul wasn't in my body… what would happen?"

Before she could answer- Scotts eyes went red, and his claws embedded themselves in the back of his head. Stiles gasped and clutched his neck.

"Fuck!" Stiles shouted, eyes watering. Something began pulling him from all directions, and he had no idea which way to go. But there was a part of him resisting, not wanting to go where he was being summoned.

"Stiles what's going on!" Allison said. Stiles reached out to Allison's outstretched hand, and went right through it. That was odd. Couldn't he touch her before?

"Allison?" He asked as she began to fade from his vision. The next thing he knew she was translucent, hand reaching out to his. He could still see her, lips calling out his name, but he couldn't hear her. Before he knew what was happening, she disappeared, and he was left by himself, struggling to leave but being forced to stay. Trying to stay where he was but being forced to leave. The pulling got stronger and stronger, and yet his feet were still firmly planted on the ground. The pulling became a pressure in his head and he grasped at his temples as his nose began to bleed. He could see his body across the room having the same reaction, and his dad's voice telling his best friend to stop. But it was too late to stop now. Scott was in his head. And Stiles wasn't.

And yet- he somehow felt Scotts presence in this in between. Faintly through the ringing in his ears he heard his voice. "Stiles…" it was like a whisper. "Stiles!" This time it was a shout. And suddenly- Stiles was everywhere and nowhere. He was in a vast white space. Nothing around forever in every direction. Everywhere except where Scott was. A small ant like Scott far in the distance.

"Scott!" Stiles yelled. The pulling sensation was gone, but the pressure in his head and pain in his neck remained. He wiped his upper lip where the blood was now drying and ran towards his best friend. Scott did the same, but it was like for every two steps forward they took one back, and it felt like hours before they got within yelling distance. Stiles was exhausted from running, and the pain in his head had intensified. He didn't know where he was or why, but he knew he had to tell Scott about the Nogitsune. "Scott! Scott can you hear me!?" Scott stopped fighting the force keeping him away, and looked both confused and relieved to see him. Slowly- he nodded. He looked down in concentration. When he looked back up, he had transformed into his werewolf self. He looked at Stiles, remembering the last time he was in his head- and roared. It was deafening, and the sound seemed to radiate everywhere and nowhere, just like the place they were in. Stiles covered his ears, and waited for it to stop. When it did, he yelled across the plane to where his best friend stood. "What the hell was that for!" He yelled.

"It's how I got your attention last time! I figured it could do something in here…"Scott ended lamely.

"Bro. I can already see you." Stiles yelled "I think you were just upstaging me." Scott smiled. Even if they had to yell across this weird plane, it was nice to have Stiles talk to him. To see him with his eyes open and making jokes. As per usual.

Scott transformed back to himself and smiled at his best friend. His brother.

But something was wrong. Not only could they not reach each other, there also seemed to be a wall between them. Nearly invisible, but still there. It was making their voices muffled. They'd both overlooked in their elation to talk to each other again, but they were getting harder and harder to hear each other. As if sensing the fact that they could communicate, the force that brought Stiles there slowly started pushing him back. Suddenly he could feel the hospital floor on his feet again. "Scott! Check for the backwards 5! Check to see whose getting-" But the rest of his words were getting lost in the sudden force pushing him back. Scott became on high alert. Something was taking Stiles away. And he couldn't let it. He had questions to ask, and part of him had hoped that this would bring him back to himself- wake him up. But something was pulling at him, and Scott felt it too. He was being pushed out by some force. "Stiles! No!" He ran forwards, but the force keeping him back was getting stronger. He wolfed out once again and used his strength to get closer and closer to Stiles. When he was finally about 2 feet away, he came across the wall. It was translucent, and Scott banged on it fervently, desperate to get to Stiles. "Stiles!" He banged on the wall with all the force he could muster, but it wouldn't budge. He could still see Stiles, but it was different now. He could see right through him. He watched in horror as Stiles turned reached out his hand towards Scott. "No! Stiles come back!" But Stiles was gone. Scott was alone. And it was only then that the force picked up stronger than ever before. It pushed Scott away from the wall and sent him flying back. "Get… out. Get. Out. GET OUT!" The ominous voice said. Scott gasped and opened his eyes to find himself back in the hospital room. He retracted his claws and Stiles' body slumped forward. Melissa rushed forward and put gauze on the back of Stiles neck as Scott took a few deep breaths to try and focus on what the hell had just happened.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Well shit." He said. He knew exactly what the clue Stiles had said the day of the crash meant now. He just had to figure out how it had been released. And how to save his best friend from it. Again.


End file.
